Railroad.



H. L. ROBERTS.

RAILROAD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1914.

Patented 1601211914.

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H. L. ROBERTS.

RAILROAD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1914 1,1 18,052, Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

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RAILROAD.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 23, 1914.

1, 1 1 8,052. Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

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HenryZ.RoZ-ev2's H. L. ROBERTS.

RAILROAD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1914. I 1 1 l gfififi. Patented Nov. 24, 1914:.v

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HENRY L. ROBERTS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

Application filed July 23, 1914. Serial No. 852,593.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY L. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroads, of which the following is a speci fication.

My invention relates to improvements in railroads, the object of the invention being to provide an improved railroad which is designed for conveniently transporting both passengers and freight particularly in congested communities like large cities.

Heretofore, various styles of railroads have been employed in cities and like communities for passenger service, but no provision has been made for the care of vehicles or small loads such as mechanics, and workmen of all sorts are compelled to transport from place to place. It is the purpose of my improved railroad to permit wagons, pushcarts or other vehicles or persons carrying large bundles or loads to be transported on the cars from one station or street to another, so that long hauls by private conveyance is entirely done away with, enabling even the smallest tradesmen to deliver goods conveniently in any section of the city and enabling mechanics or working people to carry their tools or appliance to any portion of the city quickly and economically, thereby extending the business of small dealers and tradesmen of all sorts beyond the limits possible under prevailing conditions. 7

A further object is to provide an improved construction of station which enables conveyances with freight or passengers to reach the cars or trains bound in any direction, and which facilitates the loading and unloading of the cars and the quick despatch of business.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing parts of the walls and floors broken away to illustrate various details of construction. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the first floor above the ground constituting the freight station. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the second floor above the ground constituting the passenger station, and Fig. 4 1s an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

1 represents a building provided with a floor 2 above the street level and a floor 3 above the floor 2 with a suitable roof 4 covering the building. It is to be understood that the building may be variously formed to accommodate such business as could be well cared for in a railroad station or terminal, and hence I do not limit myself to the particular form of the building, nor to the particular structural details for supporting the several floors, as it is -to be understood that such structure will be utilized as found most desirable for the purpose.

The floor 2 constitutes the freight station and the floor 3 the passenger station. The floor 2 is provided with four tracks 5, positioned at right angles to each other and crossing each other at the four points indicated. These tracks are to accommodate freight cars 6, either singly or in trains, and while I preferably employ electricity as a motive power, the invention is not limited in this particular. It is, of; course, to be understood that the various tracks communicate with tracks branching out in all directions and leading to various parts of the city or community as may be desired. On the floor 3, constituting the passenger station, I also provide four pairs of tracks 7 for passenger cars 8 operating either singly or in trains, and these freight and passenger tracks 5 and 7 respectively can be located at the same or different levels in the street in accordance with the width of the street and other conditions which may exist.

It will be noted, particularly by reference to Fig. 4, that the freight cars are appreciably wider than the passenger cars, and with both freight and passenger, it will be observed that the rails are depressed with relation tothe platforms, so that the freight and the passengers may move directly from the platform into the cars without any elevation whatever.

The freight cars are wide enough to accommodate vehicles of any sort, as for eX- ample, it is my intention to so'construct the freight cars that they will be large enough to accommodate one or more teams, a num ber of pushcarts or other loaded vehicles, and to facilitate the handling of freight, I

provide doors 9 in opposite sides of the cars so that the vehicles may pass in and out from either side in accordance with the posi tion of the car at the station.

Where double tracks are used, of course, it will be necessary to get in and out of the car at the same side, as the car will register with the platforms on that side, but in many cases single tracks may be used so that the vehicles an pass from one side to the other indiscriminately.

In the center of the building, I provide an incline 10 which extends from the ground floor up to the freight station 2. This in cline 10 is preferably curved as shown, and is of a width sufficient to accommodate vehicles of various sort moving up and down the same, and I divide this incline by a suitable fence or railing 11, so that a relatively narrow path 12 is provided for the accommodation of pushcarts and the like.

lhe incline 10 is used to reach the center platform, and at each side of the building, I provide other inclines 13 to reach the out side portions of the platforms. 1 provide four of these inclines 13 which extend upwardly for half the elevation, and then bend and extend in the reverse direction to the floor level, thereby breaking the length of the incline and permitting an easy haul for draft animals. I also provide freight ele vators 14c and stairways 15 extending from the ground level to the freight station 2. Heavy burdens may be carried on the elevators, and if desired, I may make these elevators sufficiently large to carry teams or other vehicles to avoid the necessity of hauling up the inclines.

On the outside of the building, on all four sides, I provide inclined walks 16 for passengers, so that if any passenger desires to avoid the stairways or the elevators, he may use the incline. By this arrangement of parts, freight either on vehicles or in the arms of passengers can be readily handle to reach the freight station 2, and can be conveniently placed upon the cars, and when on the cars, can be transported to any part of the city and unloaded, thus rendering it as convenient to handle freight as passengers, and permitting small dealers and tradesmen to carry their burdens about the city without the necessity of long hauls or without the necessity of employing express companies for the purpose.

On the upper floor 3, constituting the pas senger station, I provide waiting rooms 17, and cross-overs 18, so that passengers from either side of the track can reach the waiting rooms. I also provide elevators 19 which run from the street level up to the passenger station, and provide stairways 20 for such passengers as do not care to use the elevators.

While I have described my improvements in connection with an elevated system, I would have it understood that the same ideas might be carried out with but slight modification for subways and underground sys tems as well.

While I have illustrated my improvements in a particular type of station with double tracks on the four sides crossing each other, it is to be understood that various modifications of the arrangements of tracks and other parts may be resorted to in accordance with the location and the require ments of any particular place, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what ll claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a building, comprising a station, tracks on the station cross ing each other and dividing the station into plurality of platforms, and crossovers in 4 the corners of the station connecting the platforms, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a building, comprising a station, tracks on the station cross ing each other and dividing the station into a plurality of platforms, and crossovers in two corners of the building connecting the platforms at the corners and permitting passengers to walk from one platform onto another, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a building, comprising freight and passenger stations, one located above the other, tracks on both stations crossing each, other, dividing the stations into a plurality'of platforms, means for conveying freight and passengers to and from the respective stations, and crossovers in the corners of the passenger station crossing the tracks and permitting the passengers to walk from one platform onto another, substantially as described.

.1-. The combination with a building having a freight station above the street level, and having a passenger station above the freight station, tracks on both of said stations dividing them. into a plurality of platforms, means for conveying vehicles to the freight station, means for conveying passengers to the passenger station, and crossovers in the corners of the passenger station crossing the tracks and permitting the passengers to walk from one platform onto another, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a building havinga freight station at one elevation, and a passenger station at a higher elevation, tracks on both stations cross each other and dividing the stations into a plurality of platforms, inclined runways from the street level to the platforms of the freight stations, means for conveying passengers to name to this specification in the presence the passenger stat1on, and cross-overs 1n the of two subscribing wltnesses.

corners of the passenger station crossing the tracks and permitting the passengers to HENRY ROBERTS 5 Walk from one platform onto another, sub- Witnesses:

stantially as described. 0. R. ZIEGLER, In testimony whereof I have signed my S. W. FOSTER.

coplel of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, D. C. 

